St. Louis Real Estate - Your Credit Score | St Louis Real Estate Voice

St. Louis Real Estate – Your Credit Score

What's your credit score? If you’ve had your head in the sand about dealing with your credit, now is the time to stand and face the music. More than ever in recent years, it is imperativethat you manage your credit history and credit scores attentively and responsibly. Today, a 700 is the same as 640 used to be. Remember, that is your MID score requirement, not the high score. It’s necessary to collect all three for an accurate assessment. As it stands, nearly all lenders require a minimum of 620 for conventional loans and a minimum of 580 for government loans like FHA and VA. And the bar keeps raising as we go. Here is just a snapshot to get you started and if that’s not enough, join us for a webinar with Credit Resolution Guru, Ron Marchiani Wednesday, October 22nd at 6:00pm. Details are at bottom.

Facing the Music – Find Out What’s in the Report

The three major credit “repositories” (bureaus) are Equifax, Experian and Trans Union Corp.
Requesting a report from each should cover your complete credit history (reports can be requested online: www.equifax.com , www.experian.com , www.transunion.com ).
You are entitled to one free credit report per year.

Don’t Take Their Word for it – See if Somebody Goofed

Most financial information, such as a credit card payment history, is sent directly from creditors’ computers to the three repositories’ computers.
Data transfer still involves human input, including information gathered from courthouse files, for example.
Simple recording errors or mistaken identities could result in a mistake on the credit report.

Be a Vigilante – Request Corrections

Credit bureaus are obligated to investigate complaints and correct errors.
Consumer vigilance is important, nonetheless, because the bureaus are not as diligent as we would hope.

Start Doing the Dance – Get Ready to BUY or REFINANCE!

Do things to offset your credit if it’s less than ideal.
Opt out of credit card offers at 888-5-OPTOUT – this will raise your score.
STOP making inquiries or allowing anyone else to make inquiries 60 days before you are ready to buy.
Make sure your Mortgage Broker is not running the credit over and over.
Don’t be late on payments – one month can cost you down the road!!
Pay off all recent small collections – especially medical and utilities (let the old ones sit or you could reactivate a dormant account and actually hurt your credit more).
Start putting money in the bank – 100% financing is no longer available, although FHA still allows 97% and many 95% loans.
Build good credit while you’re working on resolving old credit issues.
Pay down high balance credit cards (your debt to credit ratio should not exceed 40%).
DON’T cancel all your credit cards. Keep the three or four oldest ones and maintain good payment histories and low balances to continue good credit reporting activity.

Plan for your Future – Get the Right Home Mortgage

Count on your Personal Mortgage Professional for smart financing options and the expertise to help you achieve your goals. Your home mortgage should be part of your overall financial planning picture, not just something you do “for now”.

Don’t Procrastinate – Call your Personal Mortgage Professional EARLY in the process to:

Buy a new home.
Refinance your home to pay off high interest debt, make improvements.
Eliminate Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) and increase monthly cash flow!

For more indepth information, some great overview booklets can be found here:

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/brochures

http://www.consumerfed.org/topics.cfm?section=Finance&Topic=Credit%20Scores%20and%20Reporting

If you’d like to join us and learn more about your credit, how to evaluate it and how to improve it, please join us.

Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Time: 6:00 pm, Central Daylight Time (Special Realtors ONLY Session begins at 5:30pm)
Meeting Number: 615 784 337
Meeting Password: credit

Please click the link below to see more information, or to join the meeting.
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To join the online meeting (you must be in front of your computer)
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1. Go to https://meetings.webex.com/meetings/j.php?ED=5638742&UID=0
2. Enter your name and email address.
3. Enter the meeting password: credit
4. Click “Join”.
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To join the teleconference only
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Call-in number (US/Canada): 1-650-429-3300
Toll-free dialing restrictions: http://www.webex.com/pdf/tollfree_restrictions.pdf
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For assistance go to http://www.webex.com/go/ppusupport
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WHAT DO YOU THINK? TAKE OUR POLL.

Do you think the mortgage lender is getting TOO strict on credit now?
( polls)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008 at 5:42 pm and is filed under For Buyers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.